Poor Hygiene and Bedsores

The Relationship Between Poor Hygiene and Bedsores

When a nursing home resident develops a bed sore, family members want answers. However, it is rare that they received the correct information. Bed sores are caused by unrelieved pressure on the body. If a nursing home resident is not receiving proper pressure relief a bed sore will develop. That is why they are also known as pressure ulcers.

Poor hygiene and bedsores often go hand and hand. If a resident is not kept clean and dry the chances of them developing a bed sore is significantly increased. These facts are rarely provided to family members when a bed sore develops because the nursing staff does not want you to know what actually happened. They do not want you to know that the bed sore was the result of nursing home negligence.

A Nursing Home’s Failure to Keep its Residents Clean

Philadelphia / PA or NJ nursing home residents often cannot complete even the most basic tasks such as cleaning themselves. Nursing home residents are assessed by the staff to determine what they can and cannot do. If a resident cannot clean, bathe, change or toilet themselves, it is the responsibility of the nursing home to provide this care.

Nursing home staff members must be attentive to all hygiene areas. This is particularly important to those at risk or who have already developed a bed sore. Poor hygiene care can make the skin more vulnerable to wounds. If a bed sore has already developed poor hygiene can lead to further deterioration of the wound. Poor hygiene can also lead to a bed sore infection. Infected bed sores often lead to life-threatening conditions such as septic-shock.

Poor Hygiene and Bed Sores Found in Short-Staffed Nursing Homes

Many Philadelphia / Pennsylvania and New Jersey nursing home corporate owners purposely cut their nursing home staffing levels to keep operating costs down and business profits up. Although this may be a logical business practice, when taken to an extreme, it places nursing home residents at a far greater risk of nursing home abuse and neglect. Common signs of suchnursing home neglect and abuse includes poor hygiene care and bed sore development.

When a Philadelphia / PA or NJ nursing home is short-staffed, elderly nursing home residents who are in continuous need of assistance are commonly neglected. It takes time to properly change, clean and bathe residents who cannot do it themselves. Often it takes more than one nurse aide to do complete the tasks. If a nursing home is short-staffed, proper hygiene is not being provided. As a result of this nursing home neglect, bed sores often develop and/or deteriorate in condition. Bedsore development that results from poor hygiene care is one of the most common signs of neglect found in Philadelphia / PA and NJ nursing home facilities.

You should know that the vast majority of bed sores that develop at Philadelphia / PA and NJ nursing homes are avoidable if proper hygiene and other care is provided.

Don’t Believe the Excuses Nursing Homes Provide

Nursing homes never want to take responsibility for the development of a bed sore. The nursing home staff will make every effort to convince family members that the bed sore was the result of factors beyond the control of the nursing home staff. Philadelphia / PA and NJ nursing home care providers often point to the residents age and medical conditions as the reason for the bed sore. The nursing home staff will tell family members that the bed sore was inevitable.

Bed Sores Are Signs of Nursing Home Neglect

The vast majority of bed sores suffered by residents in Philadelphia / Pennsylvania and New Jersey nursing homes are almost entirely avoidable if proper care is provided. Do not permit nursing homes to make excuses. Bed sores are far less likely to develop or deteriorate if a resident is not being kept clean and dry. Only in very limited circumstances can a bed sore be considered inevitable.

You Need a Nursing Home Bedsore Attorney

Philadelphia / New Jersey nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer, Brian P. Murphy, is highly trained to focus on all aspects of a nursing home neglect case including the basis for the development and deterioration of bed sores. Mr. Murphy has years of experience in bed sore-related cases. He knows precisely where to look and with whom to speak to determine if you have a valid bed sore case. Get your questions answered today.

* Nothing on this website is to be construed as attorney advice or otherwise creating an attorney-client relationship.

About

The Nursing Home Attorneys.com is a website owned by Brian P. Murphy, Esquire, a PA- and NJ-licensed personal injury attorney.
Located in Bucks County, PA, Mr. Murphy serves all of Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia, Mercer County, and all of New Jersey.
Brian Murphy exclusively handles wrongful death, nursing home abuse, and neglect litigation.

PA Areas Served

In Pennsylvania, nursing home attorney Brian P. Murphy practices throughout the state, especially the following counties: Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Bucks County.
Mr. Murphy covers all of Bucks County, especially the following areas: Doylestown, New Hope, Newtown, Quakertown, and Langhorne.

NJ Areas Served

In New Jersey, nursing home abuse attorney Brian Murphy handles abuse and neglect cases throughout the state.
This includes but is not limited to, Newark, Trenton, Princeton, Camden, Paterson, Bergen County, Essex County, Middlesex County, Mercer County, and Camden County.